Review: The Transitioners: The Purple Blues by Indigo Cox

The Transitioners by Indigo Cox, the first book in the Purple Blood Lineage series, is a beautiful coming of age story that just happens to have one of the most refreshing superhero journeys at its core.

Misty is the first African-America student to make it into Girard, a high-profile music school. While an exceptional student and musician, she is still looked down upon due to the color of her skin. A fact that normal students can’t change, but Misty can. She is a Transitioner. A half-human, half-god being who can change her appearance with the assistance of music and meditation. A skill that comes in handy when she needs to be perceived as white to get through a class.

While the book puts a new spin on the typical female superhero, in a way it also seems to undermine the message by introducing her powers to the reader as a way to pass in a white world. It doesn’t become clear that it’s a needed part of the story until her first dream where she protects a group of runaway slaves.

Misty is still coming into her powers and her change comes upon her with her monthly cycle. When she bleeds purple, she knows that her nights will be filled with dreams, transitions, and saving those she is destined to protect. Life gets complicated for Misty when she meets Justin, a fellow student who initially knows her as her transitioned self, Cynthia, during class. She is able to keep her true identity secret until a dear friend and instructor at the school pairs her up with Justin for a concert. Misty and Justin that is.

More detail about Professor Alice Schneider is needed prior to her bringing the two students together. Her character is obviously important to the storyline between Misty and Justin as she is the one who brings them together knowing their secret and that they were meant to be together.

The more Misty spends time with Justin as her true self, the harder it is to spend time with him, as Cynthia as she is terrified that she will let something slip and he will figure out her secret. Little does she know that Justin has a secret of his own. He too is a Transitioner, and she was what he needed to fulfill his destiny. All is revealed when Beatrice, Misty’s mother is on her deathbed. The origin of Misty’s powers and destiny are explained further by her mentors in the physical world as well as the dream world.

Details about Misty’s mother are detailed here and there through the novel, which flows nicely until the time of her death. When she passes it opens up a lot of questions for not only Misty’s character but for the reader. Knowing that she was looked at as “crazy” for all those years and then finding out that she was a transitioner as well leaves a gap in her history. Adding a bit more detail about what situations had her labeled as “crazy” might add some substance to her character.

Together, Justin and Misty must push forward and fulfill their respective destinies as a team. A mated pair of transitioners, they are stronger together and that puts them in greater danger. The forces out to get them are strong and dark, attempting to kill off their lineage by any means necessary. It would be a fight that crosses over from their world they occupy as their transitioned selves into the real world, with very real consequences.

The book is written in the tone of the era for which it is set and brings the personalities of the characters out from the page. While the dialog flows well, there are minor issues sprinkled throughout the book that can be distracting such as sentences that, while the reader will comprehend what is meant, just don’t read well. There are a few character backstories that feel like they need to be expanded upon to give a bit more depth to the plot also.

The author includes a sneak peek of her next book at the end of the last chapter which ties in nicely with the last chapter and leaves the reader looking forward to the rest of the story.